VZCZCXYZ0000
OO RUEHWEB

DE RUEHTG #1269/01 3422342
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 082342Z DEC 09
FM AMEMBASSY TEGUCIGALPA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 1286
INFO RUEHZA/WHA CENTRAL AMERICAN COLLECTIVE
RUEHME/AMEMBASSY MEXICO 8181

UNCLAS TEGUCIGALPA 001269 
 
FOR INL/LP MAYRA AHERN 
FOR WHA POSTS - PASS to NAOs and Merida Coordinators 
USAID for Donnie Harrington 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: SNAR KCRM KJUS EAID PREL HO
SUBJECT: HONDURAS: November 2009 INL Monthly Report 
 
¶1. Summary. With the Ambassador's approval, Regional Corrections 
Advisor has resumed working-level contact with Honduran prisons 
officials and is advising the architect/project manager of the 
maximum security building project.  Post followed up on the interim 
report of an at-risk youth program grant to a coalition of NGOs. 
Anti-Gang Project manager worked with DHS/ICE to carry out a pilot 
prisoner identification program.  During the process of annual end 
use monitoring visits, Embassy personnel discovered border posts are 
half-staffed while personnel are reassigned to security details 
associated with anti-coup protests.  End summary. 
 
--------------- 
Prison Reforms 
--------------- 
 
¶2. Regional Corrections Advisor (RCA) has resumed working-level 
contact with Honduran National Police prisons Director Commissioner 
General Allan Najera, and individual prison wardens.  RCA office has 
been set up at the national prisons directorate headquarters in 
Tamara allowing him daily contact with prison authorities, which 
will facilitate the implementation of the Honduras strategic plan 
more quickly once the project can be fully resumed.  RCA has been 
working with the architect and engineering of the high security 
administrative segregation facility referred to as "La Maquila," 
reviewing the plans and making suggestions to modify some of the 
construction areas.  The construction of this administrative 
segregation unit represents one of the most important security 
projects initiated under the administration of President Jose Manuel 
"Mel" Zelaya. The construction began in March 2009 and was scheduled 
to be completed by November 2009 with an initial budget of USD 
1,000,000.  The completion of this project has been affected by 
several delays, which are related to bureaucratic procedures in the 
disbursement of funds, the acquisition of various construction 
materials and the Honduran political crisis.  Despite all these 
challenges, the project is 82 percent completed, and in order to add 
modifications suggested by Don Stolworthy, INL Senior Corrections 
Advisor after his assessment visit conducted in January 2009, its 
budget was increased to USD 1.4 million.  These modifications 
include the addition of a kitchen and infirmary areas. 
Responsibility for completion of this project will fall on the new 
Minister of Security, who will take office on January 27, 2010.  RCA 
toured the Juticalpa and the Choluteca prisons to become familiar 
with these facilities in order to gain a better understanding 
regarding the needs of the country's prisons program. 
 
-------------------------- 
Police/Prosecutor Training 
-------------------------- 
 
¶3. Post initiated the arrangements to train the DHS/ICE vetted unit 
at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center (FLETC) in Glynco, 
GA.  The training is scheduled to be held January 26-February 12, 
2010 and 14 Honduran law enforcement officers will attend.  The 
course will cover a broad range of topics which include, but are not 
limited to trafficking in persons, human smuggling, money 
laundering, asset forfeiture, warrant execution, defensive tactics, 
and surveillance and evidence processing techniques.  The training 
will be provided using established ICE techniques but will 
incorporate the Honduran legal framework into the course curriculum. 
 The training will also include an in-depth practical exercise which 
will permit the students to utilize the skills and principles 
learned throughout the training. 
 
------------ 
Gang Program 
------------ 
 
¶4. Regional Corrections Adviser and Gang Project Manager 
participated in the Regional Gang Program Working Group meeting in 
Belize City November 4-6. 
 
¶5. INL has received the interim report on the Youth at Risk grant to 
3 NGOs under the umbrella Federation of Honduran NGOs (FOPRIDEH). 
INL Gang Project Manager and INL Training Specialist carried out a 
field visit to monitor the work of the three NGOs in urban high-risk 
neighborhoods of the capital of Tegucigalpa.  Work in tutoring and 
school reinforcement, alternative activities and sports, and 
leadership and non-violence training of 500 at-risk youth is 
proceeding well.  Another positive result has been increased 
coordination and mutual training among the three NGOs, which is 
creating tangibly stronger interventions by each (Note: this 
capacity-building in coordination was one objective of the grant. 
End note). 
 
¶6. Post is reviewing three NGO concept papers presented for new 
grants (FUNADEH - "Safer Community in Chamelecon" to support INL's 
Model Precinct project; Arrow Ministries - "Tracking Children Wards 
of the State" and GOAL - "Youth education and sports in La 
Moskitia"). 
 
¶7. Post and ICE National Gang Unit in Washington organized, and the 
ICE Vetted Unit Honduras executed, a successful mission to produce a 
new prototype of biographical software to eventually document all 
inmates in Honduran prisons.  The new software includes photographs, 
biographies and fingerprints in electronic and hard-copies formats. 
A pilot collection of 69 prisoners' data was carried out November 
9-13, including 10 gang members.  Commissioner General Najera 
expressed his satisfaction with the product and wishes to use it to 
create the legally-mandated National Prisoner Registry.  Currently, 
there is no computerized or even hard copy record of all prisoner 
records, and at least half of prisoners do not have useable 
fingerprints on file.  Almost a quarter of the prisoners in this 
pilot had immigration hits in the United States, and some were found 
to have outstanding warrants for violent crime and murder. 
 
¶8. The new Chief of the HNP Special Anti-Kidnapping Group, 
Sub-Commissioner Hector Francisco Garcia Godoy briefed Embassy 
personnel on the status of the work being carried out by his unit 
within the framework of the current no contact policy between the 
Embassy and GOH officials. 
 
---------------- 
Other Activities 
---------------- 
 
¶9. In order to start the End Use Monitoring report, Embassy staff 
visited the Pavana checkpoint in the department of Choluteca. 
Located on the Panamerican Highway, Pavana is the most important 
police checkpoint in southern Honduras.  Over 500 cars, buses and 
commercial trucks are inspected daily at this checkpoint.  Training 
Specialist discovered that some of the equipment donated in 2008, 
including laptops, digital cameras and camcorders were not in place, 
and the police officer in charge did not know where the equipment 
was located.  The post was staffed below normal levels because the 
de facto regime had reassigned half of the checkpoint staff to 
support security operations in Tegucigalpa.  Post has inquired at 
the national director level regarding the current location of the 
equipment and will continue to investigate. 
 
¶10. Embassy personnel attended the G16 International Donor Group's 
Security, Justice and Human Rights Working Group meeting, chaired by 
the United Nations Development Program (UNDP).  The agenda included 
updating the status of project portfolios, as well as the security 
and human rights situation in Honduras.  According to UNDP, Honduras 
is on track to exceed a homicide rate of 60 per 100,000 population 
in CY2009, the highest in Latin America.  Also, the group discussed 
a possible plan to support the governmental transition in the areas 
of security, justice and human rights. 
 
LLORENS